Vinyl or CD?

[James the Albarry lover]

I had around 250 CD and no vinyl. A CD or vinyl is just an item.

Just because it's on a CD doesn't guarantee good audio.[/QUOTE]

I'd be keeping my CDs if I got into vinyl and definitely I've came across alot of CDs that sounded awful but it was more down to the quality of the recordings

[James the Albarry lover]

A couple of months ago I moved from cd to vinyl myself James.
I shan't be going back anytime soon.
All that time and money wasted trying to get digital audio to sound analogue.

If you're serious about the change spend a couple of hundred quid on a deck and a couple of vinyls.
If you hate it then you haven't lost owt but if you love it you are on the ground floor and running.

My dad has an old Rega planner 2 somewhere I might steal that off him to give it a go

[agk]

That's the way. You'll either be seduced or just plain hate it but you'll know.

But please do get it set up right before making a decision. Once everything is in order it's bliss bit if it ain't right it's shite.

[Stratmangler]

if it ain't right it's shite.

[Edward]

Some time in the near future I'll be upgrading my source but I don't know what to go for I find the idea of vinyl very appealing even the whole physical side of it leads me to think I would get more enjoyment out of it

Then again CD is what I know and love, the simplicity of it and next to zero maintenance is good if you just wanna listen to music without any fuss and placement in my tiny room might not work for vinyl

My experience with vinyl is very limited or next to none I've heard some cheap crap that hasn't been cleaned or looked after and I wouldn't really count that as an experience

I want to know how do the two different sounds compare and what's your opinion on the matter

Good vinyl played on a reasonably well set up deck will sound millions times better than poorly mastered digital played via mediocre equipment (eg a CDP or mass market dac chip). The opposites are also, of course, true.

I have two vinyl decks and two CD players with several hundred each of LPs and CDs. I have not played either for years. I only, now, play music via a dedicated server and/or internet streaming.

If I were to start over, had lots of funds and more space I would get a high end TT and play excellent selected vinyl just for the nostalgia of handling the black stuff, artwork and the rest. But mostly I would stick with pure digital as well mastered music played though well thought out equipment (= does not have to be expensive) can and will sound just as good or even better than most vinyl setups (IMO of course).

But given that you seem to have access to a good TT (the Rega you mentioned) I would definitely recommend you try vinyl for now and also, if you can, find the same albums on CD (that has not been remastered to death). This ought to give you a good base to continue your hifi journey. HiFi is, after all, a journey not a destination.

[Yomanze]

My dad has an old Rega planner 2 somewhere I might steal that off him to give it a go

Best idea yet, just get spinning with the lowest outlay possible.

[Idlewithnodrive]

I just LOVE music, there, I've said it.

For me, vinyl delivers that emotional, natural, almost reverential experience (and that's THE word) that CD or streaming just can't match. If i want to do full justice to the music, pay it it's due respect, it has to be vinyl, despite it's myriad foibles / imperfections.

So, for me, it's vinyl for serious listening / the experience / the time and effort that great music deserves, CD for convenience and streaming for discovery of new music.

[paulf-2007]

Using a mediocre vinyl set up won't produce quality equal to cd. It's been said so often, vinyl replay equal to cd costs much more, at some point beyond that level it's better than cd, the reason I don't bother with cd even though I have many cd's. Digital for me is Spotify, vinyl for those special sessions with my best recordings.

[Marco]

Using a mediocre vinyl set up won't produce quality equal to cd. It's been said so often, vinyl replay equal to cd costs much more, at some point beyond that level it's better than cd...

Yup, themz da facts!

Marco.

[Haselsh1]

My partner Sue and I agree that in our sound system when playing electronica CD is the master (geddit)